Meet Hong Kong’s happiest taxi driver William Wong ... and sign his guestbook

As taxi driver William Wong flicks through the pages of the guestbooks he has collected over the past four years, he can’t help but smile at some of the messages. “A true professional who brings joy to his customers”, reads one. “Thank you for such a wonderful and positive idea,” says another.

The red cab driver, who turns 68 this month, is trying to buck the city’s reputation for bad-tempered cabbies with his collection of guestbooks, which he keeps in his car for passengers to sign. For him, it’s a way to connect with people, preserve memories and improve drivers’ image among locals and tourists.

One of the notes reads, “You’re the best driver. Thank you!” Wong chuckles. “The books make me very happy. Most people see them and say, ‘Wow! So great, an amazing idea.’ I’ve never heard of any other drivers doing the same thing … Hong Kong taxi drivers have such a bad image.”

The idea for the books began in 1996, when he went travelling around Europe. “I saw all the restaurants and hotels had books for customers to sign and write something. When I came back to Hong Kong, I thought, ‘Why can’t I have a book in my taxi?’ But it was only in 2013 that I started to do it. Now I have 10 books.”

Progress was slow at first. He found that locals were curious, yet weren’t interested in signing the books, which hung from the back of the front seat, with a pen and a note from Wong on the cover inviting passengers to sign. “In the beginning, it was only foreigners and tourists who would write something. They’d say it was an amazing idea,” he recalls.

One of Wong’s favourite pastimes is taking out the books and rereading his favourite comments. Sometimes, the passenger writes a long letter or draws an elaborate picture. Others just sign their name with a short greeting. Most write in English or Chinese, but there are many other languages to be found in the books, including Korean, Hindi and Japanese. Some of the books took a year to fill with comments, while others were done within six months.